1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle bumpers, and more particularly pertains to a vehicle bumper which includes a resilient padded cover for absorbing minor impacts, a shock absorber for absorbing intermediate impacts, and an air bag which is inflatable upon a severe impact. Various forms of vehicle bumpers have been proposed for protecting vehicle occupants from crash forces. Many of these bumpers have a collapsible force absorbent construction to absorb impact forces, but are relatively expensive because the bumper is severely damaged by even minor impacts. In order to overcome this problem, the present invention provides a safety bumper system which includes three diverse shock absorbing systems for absorbing various degrees of impact forces, without incurring expensive structural damage.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of vehicle bumpers are known in the prior art. A typical example of such a vehicle bumper is to be found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,519,967, which issued to A. Hughes on Dec. 16, 1924. This patent discloses an elongated cylindrical bumper having a resilient outer portion and including a constantly pressurized pneumatic tube. U.S. Pat. No. 1,935,447, which issued to O. Hoffman on Nov. 14, 1933, discloses a pneumatic bumper including a pneumatic tube secured to a vehicle frame by a spring steel shock absorbing structure. U.S. Pat. No. 2,202,460, which issued to F. Maciel on May 28, 1940, discloses a pneumatic vehicle bumper adapted for mounting along side portions of a vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 2,236,507, which issued to A. Kreitz on Apr. 1, 1941, discloses a pneumatic bumper including a constantly pressurized pneumatic tube. U.S. Pat. No. 2,890,904, which issued to A. Materi on June 16, 1959, discloses a pneumatic vehicle bumper having accordion fold resilient shock absorbing sections.
While the above mentioned devices are directed to vehicle bumpers, none of these devices disclose a vehicle bumper including three separate impact absorbing systems for dampening slight, moderate and severe impact forces. Additional features of the present invention, not contemplated by the aforesaid prior art devices include the provision of an air bag in an impact member which is inflatable upon a severe impact, a resilient cover which is released from engagement with the impact member upon inflation of the air bag, and the slidable mounting of the impact member by a shock absorber within a fixed shell member. Inasmuch as the art is relatively crowded with respect to these various types of vehicle bumpers, it can be appreciated that there is a continuing need for and interest in improvements to such vehicle bumpers, and in this respect, the present invention addresses this need and interest.